


Family

by stylinsonslytherin



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Big Brother Alec, Child Alec Lightwood, Child Isabelle Lightwood, Child Jace Wayland, Childhood, Fluff, Good Parent Maryse Lightwood, Good Sibling Alec Lightwood, Good Sibling Isabelle Lightwood, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jace Wayland Needs A Hug, Jace Wayland is a Lightwood, Kid Fic, Lightwood Siblings, Little Siblings, Pre-Canon, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sick Character, Sick Jace Wayland, Sickfic, They are so cute, poor Jace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29551638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylinsonslytherin/pseuds/stylinsonslytherin
Summary: Where eleven year old Jace, still fairly new to the Lightwood family and therefore getting used to how things actually are, wakes up ill in one morning and decides to not tell anybody about it (but ends up being dragged by his siblings to their mum's office instead of the infirmary)
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Maryse Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Maryse Lightwood/Robert Lightwood
Kudos: 24





	Family

**Author's Note:**

> ello! back again, but this time it’s not w anything 1D/Larry related lol. iso life got me missing TMI so much and as i’ve been living out of fanfiction, i thought why not write my own?! so here it is, a little pre canon family fluff between the Lightwood sibs and their mama idea that popped into my mind because i needed this in my life and it’s so incredibly hard to find any family fluff between them, pre canon or not! well, shadowhunters tings i guess (i must say i really love maryse and i think they messed up her character in the show so bad portraying her like that....). anyways, hope y’all like it! :)

#   
Training felt harder in that morning, somehow harsher, even though they always followed a routine. Jace had been through much worse with his father before everything changed, and if it were for said father, the eleven year old definitely would’ve been punished for his less than satisfactory performance without a doubt. Thinking about the many ways he had been punished before, the boy cringed internally and put in a greater effort to disarm Alec, who clearly had noticed something was off. 

The eldest of the Lightwood children wasn’t the only one; Isabelle too had her eyes on him, and so did Hodge. The man’s commands sounded too loud and resonated in his head along with the clash of blades and the whooshing sound of Isabelle's whip cutting through the air as the girl practised not too far away from them. 

Usually, Jace would’ve beaten Alec already. He was going through that weird growing phase and still hadn’t found his balance on his suddenly too long legs, and his grip on the sword was too loose. Usually, with one simple stride and a flick of his own blade, Jace would have a disarmed Alec just waiting for the hit that would bring him to the floor. 

In that particular morning though, Jace could already feel sweat collecting at his brow and soaking through his shirt - and they had barely started. Hodge kept barking orders every few minutes, sometimes calling one of them out on something and sometimes remaining completely silent, as if he wasn’t even there. 

“Alec, keep your feet apart. Lean your weight on your dominant leg. Be steady and focused, boy, or else you’ll be down and disarmed in the blink of an eye in an actual battle, and we can’t have that now, can we?” 

“No, no, no! Jace, blade” the man said, taking the Seraph blade Jace held out for him and assuming his place in front of Alec, quickly sweeping the lad to the floor with a single move, holding Jace's weapon over his chest, “Standing like that, you’re an easy target, Alec. You have to be centred the whole time. Work on your defence” 

Alec got up and nodded, his brows furrowing slightly in concentration as Hodge handed Jace his blade back. 

Hodge stepped away, giving them space as he went over to Isabelle and all but forced the huffing girl to practise with the stars, which no one really cared to use. 

“Ready?” Alec asked, fumbling slightly until he managed to get a right grip of his weapon to wield it correctly. Jace would’ve corrected his stance - his footwork still wasn’t quite right and he didn’t look exactly confident either - but instead he just nodded and assumed his own position, struggling to not let his discomfort show. 

His body ached, but it wasn’t the ache that came after a long day of training, of sword fighting, body combat and hours leaning over books in the library to study runes. That familiar ache would go away after dinner and a warm shower by the end of the day, as soon as his tired body hit the bed; to that particular ache he was used. But this wasn’t it. 

He felt sluggish, almost as if his limbs weren’t quite following his brain, and he was exhausted. His head felt fuzzy and the noises and voices once too loud now sounded as if he were under the water, or in a tunnel. His face was hot while he and Alec continued to fight, being beaten in an unlikely way. 

Jace knew he had to stop; he was sweating profusely and gasping for air, vision flickering and swimming dizzily and stomach turning painfully inside him. He didn’t even notice it when his sword fell to the ground with a loud clank, making Alec stop abruptly. 

“Jace!” Alec cried, letting go of his own blade without a care as he ran towards the younger boy, who had fallen to his knees and whose face was as white as a sheet, “Jace, what’s wrong?” 

Shaking his head, Jace squeezed his eyes shut and pressed a hand to his belly, making Alec jump back as vomit suddenly shot out of his mouth and splattered all over the floor in front of him with a revolting noise. 

Alec was by his side in a second, watching in concern as Jace wiped a shaky hand over his mouth but didn’t open his eyes and finally deciding to rest a hand on the blond boy's tensed back, half expecting Jace to pull away from his touch. 

“Angel...” Hodge muttered, groaning in annoyance as he saw the vomit on the floor and made his way over, “C’mon kid, let’s get you to the infirmary. Alec, help him up” 

“No, Hodge” Izzy said, moving to flank Jace as well, “If he’s sick, we need to take him to Mum. She’ll take care of him” 

“Fine then” Hodge sighed, waving them off, “Take him to your mother, I’ll take care of the mess, of course” 

“I’ll be fine in the infirmary” Jace mumbled, just as Izzy slipped her hand into his to pull him along, whilst Alec kept a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t wanna bother Maryse”

“Non sense. The infirmary is there in case we get hurt, but we should always go to mum first if we’re sick. You won’t be bothering” said Izzy, squeezing his hand gently. 

“How are you feeling?” Alec asked in a clipped, serious tone, trying to disguise the concern he felt for the younger boy. “And for how long have you been ill?”

“M' fine, Alec” answered Jace, fully aware of his blatant lie as his stomach swirled uncomfortably inside him and his heavy head throbbed, making it difficult to not just lean on his siblings for support while they walked through the Institute. 

•

“Mum?” Alec called as he knocked on the door to his mother’s office, waiting for an answer before he pushed the door open. 

By some miracle, his father was there, working by Maryse as they looked over some of the latest reports of demon activity around New York. They weren’t close, but that wasn’t really a surprise; Maryse was at her desk, flipping through the pages idly, while Robert stood a few feet away, going through his own stack of reports. 

“Yes, Alec?” Maryse said, lifting her head to look at her children standing at the doorway. “Shouldn’t the three of you be training?” 

“We were, but Jace is sick, mum!” Izzy said, dragging Jace a little forward by the hand she was still holding, since the boy seemed unsure of what to do. “Hodge wanted him to go to the infirmary, but we told him it’d be better to bring him to you” 

“Is that so?” Robert asked, raising a brow and placing the files on the desk as Maryse got up, “What happened?” 

“Jace threw up” said Alec, saving the details and giving Jace a reassuring nod as Maryse placed a hand on his back and walked him to the sofa, trailing after her with his sister in tow. 

“He sure does look pale” Maryse said, pushing some of Jace's hair away from his face as she sat down beside him, “How do you feel now, sweetheart?” 

Jace's bleary eyes sought Alec out with a sort of helplessness in them that wasn’t usual, but instantly made the older boy come closer and rest a hand on his hunched back. 

“It’s okay” he whispered, leaning down to reach his brother’s ear, “You can tell her” 

Jace nodded and let out the breath he had been holding unknowingly to himself, opening his mouth only to close it again and lean forward on the sofa. “I... I think I’m gonna be sick” 

Robert was the first one to jump into action, grabbing the empty wastebasket from the side of the desk and pushing it into Maryse's waiting hands, whilst Jace burped sickly and puffed his cheeks out in an attempt to hold in what was in his stomach. 

“You two get back to Hodge and finish up your training. You may come see Jace when you’re done for the day” the woman said, offering her children a small smile since she could see how clearly worried they were, “He’ll be okay. Now go. Oh, and Alec? Your sister could use some help with her runes, if you don’t mind” 

“Course, mum. C’mon Iz, Hodge is waiting” Alec said, giving Jace's shoulder one last squeeze before turning around to leave. 

“Feel better, Jace” Izzy said, waving sadly and following Alec out just as Jace seemed to lose the battle and heaved into the bin, with Maryse rubbing his back. 

The noise that came out of Jace’s small form next was cringe-worthy and even Robert flinched in sympathy for the boy, who couldn’t seem to catch a break now that he had started. Jace held the improvised sick bucket against his chest with shaking hands, squeezing his eyes shut every time he gagged and the remains of last night’s dinner mixed with what little breakfast he had managed to force down his throat in that morning came back up, panting through it all. 

“Oh, darling...” Maryse cooed, getting up to grab some tissues and using them to wipe Jace’s mouth clean once he was just breathing heavily over the bin; she was surprised when her gesture didn’t encounter any resistance, but decided not to say anything about it. “There, take a deep breath now”

“He’s burning up” Robert said, after coming closer and pushing sweat soaked hair out of the way to lay his hand on Jace’s clammy forehead. Maryse nodded silently and took the bin from Jace, placing it on the floor for the time being, her lips pulled tight in concerned consideration. 

“C’mon, kid” the man said, carefully picking Jace up, cradling his blonde head with a gentle hand while the other hoisted the boy a little higher onto his front. Clearly, Jace wasn’t used to being held like that; he didn’t fight it - but Robert suspected that that had more to do with how bad he was feeling right then than with how accepting of the situation the eleven year old actually was - but he did go completely still, almost frozen, letting his legs hang instead of wrapping them around Robert like it was expected of any child. 

“I can walk” he mumbled, sounding tired and hoarse after all that. 

Robert just nodded with a hum, walking out of the room and into one of the many too-long hallways there. Acting instinctively, Jace wrapped his legs around his waist to feel secure in the unexpected hold, sagging into Robert’s body without meaning to as they navigated through the New York Institute and its confusing plant. His eyes slipped shut without meaning to as the sound of distant voices from other Shadowhunters and Robert's steps against the floor reached his ears like an echo growing distant. 

“Here you go, bud” Robert said, smoothing a hand down Jace’s back once they came to a stop and he noticed the boy’s closed eyes. 

Despite his unusual softness, Jace still jostled in Robert's arms and widened his eyes for a second, forcing himself to settle back just as quick as a cold glass filled with water was pressed into his hands, “It’s alright. Drink up, you need to stay hydrated. Not too fast though, that might upset your stomach again. Now let’s get going, your mother must be wondering where I took you”

•

“There you are!”

Robert placed Jace on the floor and patted his small shoulder. “We were just in the kitchen, getting some water” 

“Well, now that you’re here, Jace, why don’t you go ahead and take a shower?” said Maryse, taking the glass from his hands, “I’ll be back in a bit to check on you” 

Jace nodded obediently and headed straight into his room, noticing the clean towel and change of clothes waiting for him on his bed with both surprise and confusion. He didn’t question it, at least not out loud, but that definitely wasn’t something he was used to. 

The steaming water falling from over his head brought some very much needed and welcome warmth back to his shivering, tensed body. Jace let his head fall forwards for a moment, pushing his dripping hair back from his forehead as he reached for the soap bar first. It took him longer than usual to be done with his shower but, after a good fifteen minutes, the blond boy stepped back into his bedroom wearing pyjamas that had clearly been Alec's from the way they hung a little loosely around him and how the legs were somewhat covering his feet; he just couldn’t bring himself to care enough to adjust them, though. 

Unsure of what to do next as he hadn’t received any further instructions, the young boy wandered into the hallway and silently walked around, shuffling his bare feet on the cold floor. He had almost reached the library when the now already so familiar tapping sound of high heels reached his ears, making him turn around quickly. 

“Jace!” Maryse said, walking towards him in a faster pace than before. Jace automatically flinched and turned back to face her, his posture rigid as if he was ready to fight. 

Those reactions of his still threw Maryse off of her balance and made the darkest thoughts form into her mind, even almost a year later. A kid shouldn’t react like that, unless they had to, in order to survive, before. She shook her head and her expression softened at the frightened, although mostly hidden, look in Jace’s golden eyes. 

“What are you doing here? You should be in bed, resting” she said, watching as her newest son’s defensive stance faded away, leaving behind just them fearful, wild eyes.

“I’m sorry” Jace answered, “I didn’t know what I was supposed to do so I thought I could maybe find Alec and Izzy here”

“Alec and Izzy are still training with Hodge, and they’ll have a study session afterwards. I’m sure they’ll be happy to help you catch up with whatever you might miss out on, once you’re feeling better” Maryse said, placing a hand in between Jace’s shoulder blades as she walked him back to his bedroom, with Jace following her lead even though he looked less than pleased, what was curious considering how much he, Alec and Isabelle all hated rune studying. 

The boy sat down on his still perfectly made bed and turned his eyes to his lap, frowning when Maryse crouched down in front of him and folded the cuffs of his pants herself, also folding the slightly too long sleeves as she stood back up. Jace had seen her doing things like that before, to the others, but he hadn’t expected her to do them for him, especially not so naturally like she just had. 

Maryse pulled the covers back and motioned for Jace to get under, waiting until he was laying down to tuck them around his waist and sit down. Jace let her, and secretly let himself enjoy the feeling of being taken care of, one that he had only recently accepted and admitted to liking; the confusion, though, was still there and making itself known by the frown that never left his angelic face and his hesitant, sometimes delayed responses to the caring gestures. 

“How are you feeling?” Maryse asked, laying a hand on his flushed cheek and frowning too, “How’s your stomach?” 

“I feel nauseous still, but not as much as before. Not like I’m about to be sick again” Jace answered, “Your hand is cold”

Maryse smiled and pushed the hair away from his forehead. “I’m pretty sure that it’s not me or my hand that’s cold, but you who’s much too warm. I’d give you something for that, but perhaps we should wait until your stomach is more settled” 

Jace nodded and shuffled a bit, holding back a yawn now that he was back in the comfortable warmth that he had missed since the very first moment he got up. 

“Tired?” Maryse asked knowingly, smoothing the covers with her hand. 

“I told Izzy I’d be alright in the infirmary like Hodge said, but she insisted on taking me to you. I didn’t mean to disturb your day, I know you and Robert have lots of work to do and the Institute to run... I really am fine now. I can just go study with Alec and Izzy–” Jace blurted out nervously, fidgeting with the end of his top. 

“I don’t think so, Jace” Maryse said, examining the purple half moons that had appeared under the boy’s eyes after he’d been sick and the paleness of his skin, as Jace still looked a little grey in the face, “I don’t want you leaving your room today, unless you need something from me or Robert, understood? You’ve thrown up a lot. For now, you need rest and lots of liquids to replenish all you’ve lost. Speaking of...” - she grabbed the glass from the side and handed it to Jace, “Drink up. At least half of it”

Jace did as told, not daring to refuse as Maryse had a serious look on her face, the stern look that meant she wouldn’t budge until he obeyed her. A simple raised brow from the woman was enough to get all three of the older kids done with their left aside chores in a blink of an eye; that was just how things worked with Maryse Lightwood and the unforgiving authority she emanated. Alec called it her “Mum look”, and that look meant no one should mess with her - curiously enough, it seemed to run in the family as Isabelle herself, even at such a young age, would constantly give her brothers a less scary but undoubtedly fierce version of Maryse's look whenever she wanted something done her way, what happened quite often. 

“Good” Maryse said when Jace placed the half filled glass back on the nightstand, getting up and gently stroking his face, “Get some sleep now. You know where to find me if you need anything”

“Thank you” Jace whispered as she left the room, leaving the door half closed. 

•

“Shh! You’re gonna wake him!”

“Max, be quiet! Jace’s sleeping!”

“Jacey! Come pway, Jacey!” 

“Izzy, make him be quiet! Jace’s not feeling well, remember?”

Waking up to the sound of two familiar hushed voices, Jace slowly opened his heavy eyes to find Alec hovering over his bed. Izzy was there too, sitting by his feet, struggling to hold baby Max in her arms whilst the toddler squirmed to be put down. He sat up then, and something cold fell from his forehead. 

“Oh, leave it there. Mum must’ve placed it on your head while you were sleeping” Alec said, pushing Jace down into his pillows and carefully laying the cold thing - which now he knew to be a wet washcloth - over his forehead again, “There. It should help bring your fever down. How are you feeling?” 

“Jacey!” Max squealed as he finally got free, crawling up the bed and throwing himself on the blond boy with that extreme graciousness that only toddlers could muster, knocking the air right out of Jace’s lungs. 

“Hey, Max” Jace said, patting his back and taking a deep breath because the little one had jostled him, and his sick stomach definitely didn’t like that. 

“No, Max, don’t do that. Jace’s poorly, his tummy hurts. You have to be gentle, remember?” Izzy said, pulling Max back into her lap. 

“Tummy huwts?” Max asked, frowning as he looked over at Jace again, “I kiss it better, Jacey?”

Not knowing what to answer, Jace turned to Alec for help. 

“He’s not hurt, Max. Jace is poorly, kisses can’t help with that” Alec said a bit awkwardly, hoping his baby brother wouldn’t throw a fit about it, “Thanks for offering though. Once Jace’s better you can give him a cuddle, alright?”

Max nodded adorably and clapped his chubby little hands. “Alright! I gentle and I wait, Alec!” 

“You’re so cute, aren’t you?” Izzy cooed, smooching Max's cheeks with a hand and wiping a little drool from his chin. 

“How are you feeling?” Alec asked as he took a seat on the bed too, keeping his blue eyes on Jace. 

“What are you doing here?” Jace asked back instead of answering, “Shouldn’t you be studying in the library?”

Izzy shrugged. “We snuck out when Hodge left us alone after lunch. No one would tell us anything, so we just came here to see you”

Alec nodded. “You know you could’ve just told us you weren’t feeling well, right?”

“It was pretty scary, seeing you like that. You two were fighting and then suddenly Jace’s on the floor and there’s vomit everywhere. That was gross by the way, but it’s okay” said Izzy, smiling as Max played with her fingers. 

Jace frowned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

Izzy rubbed Jace’s leg over the duvet in a comforting manner. “Of course you didn’t, silly! You’re sick, it wasn’t your fault. We were just worried about you and thought you could use some company”

“I’m fine” Jace said, shaking his head, “But you three, you shouldn’t be here. I don’t want to get you sick too”

“Don’t worry about us” Alec said, getting up and pulling Jace’s chair to the side of the bed, “We won’t stay too close”

“Yeah, see? This way there won’t be a problem” Izzy said, getting down to the floor and laying on the rug with Max, using her folded arms as a pillow whilst the toddler distracted himself with a little toy. 

Jace allowed himself a little smile then. “There will be, once Hodge tells Maryse you two snuck out” 

Izzy pretended not to listen to him. “Alec, did you bring the book?”

“What book?” Jace asked, curiously, wrapping the duvet a little tighter around himself. 

“A story one. Izzy still likes it when I read for her” Alec explained, showing him a hardcover book, “Are you cold? I brought you that in case you were. It’s mine, but you can keep it if you want. I have another”

Jace looked at the end of the bed, to where Alec had just pointed, and found there a folded blanket. It was dark blue, fluffy, covered with white stars and it smelled like fabric softener and Alec when he pulled it up and over his own duvet. “Thank you, Alec”

“Yeah, now read us a story, big brother!” Izzy said, giggling from her place on the floor when Alec tried to kick her, “Read us that one I like”

“Don’t you like them all, though?”

And that was how Maryse found her kids a little over an hour later, when she finally managed to get through an awfully stressing meeting and Hodge told her about Alec and Isabelle. As soon as she heard about them sneaking out, she had a feeling they would be there. 

She just hadn’t expected to find a sound asleep Jace tucked underneath a blanket that she knew to be Alec's, both Isabelle and Max out like lights huddled together like puppies on the rug and a snoozing Alec on a chair, with a book opened on his lap and his feet propped on Jace’s bed. Maryse smiled at the sight; she didn’t have the heart to wake them up, not when they were like that. 

Instead, she went from one to the other, silently spreading blankets over small curled up bodies and closing the book before it fell from Alec's lap, marking the page with the first thing she saw. 

Hours later, as the day turned into night and the little moment the children shared wasn’t even mentioned by anyone, Maryse found herself in Jace’s bedroom, quietly collecting glasses, a barely touched bowl of homemade soup that the boy just couldn’t bring himself to eat, try as he might, a Calpol bottle and the syringe that were all cluttered on his nightstand. She came back with a fresh washcloth, which she laid over the sleeping lad’s still warm and clammy forehead before leaning down to kiss the top of his head. 

Jace smelled a little like sweat and the same shampoo she bought for Alec and Isabelle, and now for him too. He smelled just like one of her children, and even sick as he was, the boy looked angelic in a way only Jace could. Maryse didn’t even notice it when the old french lullaby that she still sang for Max to sleep, when Isabelle was scared of the dark or Alec had nightmares slipped out of her lips, while her fingers ran through blond strands of hair that she could hardly see in the dark of the room. 

Jace probably would never know, but that wasn’t the first time she sang that same song to him, nor would it be the last.


End file.
